Amid tough financial times and the current COVID-19 pandemic, a family created their own food pantry at their house on Tenth Street in Rocky Ford.
In an effort to provide food security in the community, Vee Montoya, and daughters, Illyawna and Lyrika Gallegos, set up a small table and later a larger cabinet in their front yard as a food pantry for people to donate and pick up supplies. People can take any item they desire from the cabinet free of charge.
“I try to teach my kids like my grandparents and dad taught me, to never deny someone food or drink so we started the “Sharing Table” for all the people in need here in Rocky Ford.” Said Vee Montoya about opening their own food pantry.
Lyrika Gallegos poses by the "Sharing Cabinet" (Photo by Vee Montoya)
They initially donated a few items of their own and then neighbors chipped in. The movement started to take off when she posted about it on Facebook. They have gotten so many donations that they had to upgrade from a smaller folding table to a larger cabinet which has also been overflowing. Montoya had to take some items inside her house to place back in the pantry when there is room.
Common supplies have included non-perishable canned goods, pasta, beans, and rice, along with macaroni and cheese and peanut butter. Local community members have also donated farm-fresh eggs, sacks of potatoes, and home-cooked meals.
The generosity she’s witnessed over the past week has really been moving. “I believe it can open the hearts of other people in our community, as it already has, to donate and share with one another. It’s not just take, take, take, people swap out and people come just to drop off donations.” She said of the people getting involved. While they have seen little issues with someone who sliced bags of rice, which can be discouraging, she said: “they can continue to show the world there are still good people out there.”
If anyone would like to pick up items or donate items, you can find the Sharing Cabinet on the northeast corner of Tenth & Maple in Rocky Ford. They accept all types of donations from non-perishable foods, hygiene, to farm-fresh foods, and if anyone would like to make a larger donation it is advisable to contact her through Facebook or at her door, so it gets distributed evenly.